Barbarian (Zach Cregger, 2022)

The less you know before you watch, the more fun you’ll have

I implore you — do not watch any trailer for Barbarian. Other than this spoiler-free review, do not read anything about Barbarian.

Go in as uninformed as possible. Then buckle up and prepare to be surprised.

This was exactly how I experienced the film — having heard lots of praise and hype but not actually knowing anything about it — and it was a thrill to watch the film unfold, being entirely unprepared for whatever happened next.

Barbarian begins with Tess (Georgina Campbell), arriving at an Airbnb late at night, only to find someone else already there: a young man named Keith (Peter Skarsgård). It turns out the property has been double booked and, with no other options, they agree to share the rental for the night.

It’s a super simple setup, but you’d be shocked at where the film goes from there. It’s certainly not what you might expect, and I shan’t tell or give you any hints.

You must watch the film yourself and experience it fresh and unspoiled.

It is a tense thriller of a film. You’re always trying to assess where the threat will come from, only to have the rug constantly pulled out from under you.

It’s a guessing game of sorts — we know that something bad is going to happen, but what exactly is the danger?

No seriously, what the hell?!?!

At almost every step, just when we think we might have figured out what the deal is, there’s another stunning revelation and the story pivots in a new and unexpected direction.

It’s fun, it’s edgy, it’s thoroughly entertaining.

What I especially love about Barbarian is how it plays with the storytelling structure. Just as things reach a crescendo, a whole new perspective is introduced. And later again, a detour through time provides yet another important layer of context to the story.

This isn’t to say that Barbarian is one of those puzzle-films where serious brain power is required to follow the plot or make sense of what’s happening, rather is a refreshingly different approach to feeding you the information to make sense of it all.

Things happen and then details are provided so you can better understand what and why and how.

It is really skillful storytelling — kudos to Cregger who both wrote the script and directed.

And as scary a horror film as this absolutely is, it’s also incredibly funny at times.

I implore you — stop whatever it is you’re doing, and go watch Barbarian right now. You’ll laugh and you’ll yell at the screen, but most of all you will be shocked at the twists and turns this movie takes.

It is a fantastic modern horror movie, and the less you know before you watch, the more fun you’ll have with it.

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